zoo at the zoo

Jack Frost made a visit Saturday night  and sprinkled the pasture with a beautiful dusting of sparkly frost.  The sun was shining, the birds chirping, and Peanut Butter was braying (he always lets us know when we are late for breakfast).  After a breakfast of blueberry pancakes we decided to head to the zoo.  Our zoo went to the zoo.  With an annual pass, it's easy to pay a visit to the giraffes without feeling as if you have to conquer every exhibit.  The tigers were sunning themselves, the elephants were scratching their backs, and the sloth bear was pacing.  When our zoo began to sound louder than the orangutangs, handy husband and I thought it was time to head home.  By the time we were all loaded in the car (after a few smiles from those passing by), kid #1 and #2 were in full blown tears, crackers were flying, and Graham was smiling patiently in his car seat.  (No, I don't have a favorite.)

Definitely NW kids.  They need shades when the sun shines in the windows during breakfast.

 The hawk's loose, the hawk's loose!!

 My baby Graham's first visit to the zoo.

William "squirreling" away his snacks so they don't get stolen. 

Good times

 Handy husband & I quickly headed outside after the raccoons were down for naps.  He pruned the crabapple and I took Brownie on the trail for a walk and cleaned the stalls and paddock.

kale chips

For dinner last night, I made kale chips as an appetizer.  Well, that's a fancy word for "settling" the pack of raccoons while dinner was finishing up.  Grace & William loved them.  Here is the recipe:

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale

sea salt

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash kale and cut leaves off of the hard stem.  Cut into "chip" size pieces.  Arange in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast approximately 10 minutes. 

Just out of the oven

momma's on the town

We awoke to a beautiful and cold morning. Today was a special and vintage kind of day. I headed out this morning to the Ruffles and Rust vintage flea market in Monroe. If you like vintage finds and fabulously handcrafted treasures, this was your event. I came home with this:

Ok, please find the humor in it. The moment I saw it, I smiled. Each black section you see is a "cubby". I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but don't you think the "Funny Farm" fits our home perfectly? It was made for us. I couldn't pass it up. I think it will find it's way into the bedroom of one of the rugrats.

                                                          My self reflection for the day.



My luck continued today when I was handed the keys to THE TRUCK. Yep. I was rolling in the '47 Ford to pick up 9 bales of hay at Dayville Feed Store in Snohomish. I picked up my Mom on the way. Bob, the owner approached me and tried to get me to sell him the truck. He knows that handy husband always turns him down. Well, he just met wise wife.

Isn't he cute? I don't live on a dude ranch with a cowboy but man I got close! If I could only remember the things they taught be about roping when I was in Texas...then I could teach him how to do that. Just like I taught him how to shoot a gun. (Yes, his first successful shot was directly after my advice). Surely pure luck, but I'll take the credit.

buns in the sun

What do you do on an icy-cold yet clear and sunny day in the Northwest? You get outside with hats, gloves, and layers of Patagonia wear. We hit the park in Woodinville for a dose of Seattle sunshine that is all too rare these days.

A true northwest girl at heart. This umbrella seems to be her 5th appendage. When asked why she is taking it on a sunny day she replied, "mommy, you never know". I can't say I disagree.

There was a crack on the tire swing. Bummer.

The perfect way to warm up and snuggle down for bedtime. A story with Dad.

Classic Graham. His hands clasped together in front of him-just like Grandmother Doris always used to do.

all you need is love

.....love is all you need. Handy husband picked the most appropriate card for Valentines Day.

And the most perfect chocolates. My favorite dark chocolate turtles from "Oh Chocolates"-there is no better sweet treat as far as I'm concerned. You see the 2 in the box? Um, they aren't there anymore. Neither are the other 4 that came packed up so beautifully.

How 'bout this little number? It's mine since February 14th. Isn't he special? Don't get excited-I'm not calling our insurance agent to up our policy. It's not "real" but it's real beautiful.

There are 3 days in my life I've received a ring from handy husband. This picture was taken on one of them. It seems like an eternity ago. Don't we look ignorant, oblivious, and blissfully rested? The sign in the picture should now read, "just had a baby". We could have left it up permanently since that infamous day in July of 2006 and it would have never been out of date.

the ones I love

Valentines Day. It used to mean flowers, a reservation at a great restaurant, a romantic comedy, and a quiet evening with the one I love. That sounds ridiculous to me now. It now means a few hours of making homemade Valentines for a school party, making cupcakes, a breakfast of heart shaped pancakes, dinner in the dining room that ends up on the floor, and about 30 minutes of Secratariat (the movie) while folding laundry.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

Gracie loves anything associated with stickers, coloring, painting, glue, and scissors. I loved my trip to the store with her to pick out the most perfect heart stickers to make our Valentines. My "mother of the year" moment came when we made a visit to the candy aisle. Grace had to pick out chocolates to put in her little Valentine bags. She chose the Hershey's chocolate hearts. I had to explain what they were and what M&M's were. I'm giddy. My job is done.

On Saturday before Valentines, Henry and I had our first night out since Graham was born. Nana was here to watch the kids with a new "Little Bear" video to watch. We headed out to celebrate our friends' 6th anniverary. The kids played with their new ball from Nana & Papa and Handy husband and I enjoyed the homemade chocolates from my Mom.

rain....again?

It's raining again. The "professionals" forecasted quite a bit of snowfall this winter. Where is it? It's incredibly dissapointing for someone that thinks very few things top snow falling from the sky. These raincoats have seen too much rain. Every outing begins this way: the kids in raincoats,looking at worms on the ground, proceeding to stomp through the mud puddles, and eventually their bums in car seats. Yes, they are wet, but at least we are all in the car. Seriously, before I back out of the driveway, I have to turn around and make sure I see 2 blond heads, a dog with 2 ears, and a baby in a carseat. I'm never excited about the herding of the kids to the car. I need a cattle dog. We don't have one of those on this farm, do we?